Description of Agency/Activities: Penfield Children's Center in a nonprofit organization whose sole purpose is to help infants and young children with and without disabilities through education, therapy, and family programs so that they will all be able to strive to their full potentials. Most of the children enrolled at Penfield live in Milwaukee's central city, within a five-mile radius of the center. Every year, hundreds of students and community members assist in Penfield's classrooms, special care nurseries, and playgroups leaving a lasting impact on the clients with whom they work. Nearly 100 staff members directly and indirectly serve Penfield's children and families in areas such as child development, speech, occupational, and physical therapy, nursing, social work, and special education. Although their roles are different, all volunteers and staff members share a commitment to Penfield's mission and an abiding concern for the well-being of the children that they serve.

Student Role in Agency:

Special Care Nursery: Volunteers will rock, feed, and play with medically fragile infants and children under 3 years old under the direction of nursery staff. MUST have excellent training and experience with babies.

Child Care Rooms: Volunteers will interact with special needs and typically developing children, from 4 weeks to 6 years, in an assigned classroom. Volunteers will assist the teaching staff by participating in all classroom activities such as reading circle, art time, helping with snack, and helping when needed.

Special Education Rooms: Volunteers will interact with special needs children, from birth to age three, in an assigned classroom. Volunteers will assist the teaching staff by participating in all classroom activities.

Unique features of agency: Service Learners will be challenged to learn to communicate and interact with young children who have developmental disabilities. The children may have anywhere from minor developmental delays to severe mental and physical disabilities.
In addition, 95% of the children at Penfield come from homes below the US poverty level.
All of the children are extremely adorable!

Commitment: A mandatory 45 minute orientation session conducted at the agency, when students are introduced to Penfield's history and mission, regulations and safety/health precautions, and responsibilities. A tour of the facilities, including observation of the children, services and staff, is also included. 2-3 hours per week of service at the site is also required,
and the staff asks that students choose one day and time frame and remain the same throughout the semester.

If you have not already completed Marquette's Working With Minors training, you must do so. More information will be available at Sign-Up Night.